84 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



quantities, the quantity being gradually increased until 2 of the 

 draft mares received 2^ pounds each per day. In November, 1917, 

 4 mules were put on a cottonseed-meal ration. This test with both 

 the horses and mules was still in progress at the close of the fiscal 

 year. The results are not yet conclusive. The maximum quantity 

 of cottonseed meal which may be fed varies somewhat with the indi- 

 vidual animal. The indications are that 1 pound per day per 1,000 

 pounds live weight can be fed with safety and with better results 

 than greater quantities, but a continuation of the experiment is desira- 

 ble before drawing positive conclusions regarding the value of this feed 

 for work stock. 



POULTRY INVESTIGATIONS. 



The poultry investigations at the BeltsviUe farm have been con- 

 tinued without much enlargement, since the poultry force has devoted 

 so much of its time to new emergency extension work. Some new 

 tests have been made in trying out products especially adaptable to 

 war-time feeding conditions. 



Considerable additional data on egg production and th? transmis- 

 sion of this quality to both male and female lines have been obtamed 

 in the poultry-breeding experiments, which now include 1,095 trap- 

 nested hens and pullets. Seventy matings were made this year and 

 3,000 chickens were hatched. 



The Barred Plymouth Rock grade pen has shown remarkable 

 improvement and compares favorably in appearance and uniformity 

 with many pens of pure-bred Plymouth Kocks on general farms. 

 Improvement in the White Plymouth Rock pen is not so marked, 

 but these birds are becoming more uniform. 



A considerable number of matings have been made in fixing the 

 desired characteristics for a new breed, and a number of uniform 

 chickens closely approaching the desired type have been bred. 



Changes have been made in several of the feeding pens so that 

 the feeding experiments comprise 25 pens containing 600 hens and 

 pullets. Many of the experiments which have been carried over a 

 period of several years are being continued, but all the new pens 

 have been put on rations conforming to war-time conditions. Con- 

 tinued good results are being obtained with the wheatless ration, 

 which is now in its third year of trial, while good hatches have been 

 obtained from hens fed this ration. In addition to cottonseed meal 

 other high-vegetable protein feeds are being used with fair success 

 in combination with meat scrap, the best results bein^ from cotton- 

 seed meal, peanut meal, soy-bean meal, and velvet-oean meal, in 

 the order named. The quality of the eggs produced from these 

 different feeds has been good in all pens. These high-vegetable 

 protein products make up 10 per cent of the mash and are fed with 

 10 per cent of meat scrap. High-vegetable protein feeds without 

 the meat scrap have not given so good results. The supply of these 

 vegetable protein products for feeding purposes is increasing, while 

 it is becoming more difficult to get high animal protein feed such as 

 meat scrap. Good results are being obtained also in feeding cooked 

 vegetables, especially waste potatoes, and one pen has been fed on 

 garbage to find out how much value this material has in reducing 

 the cost of feed 



